Theater 397A - ST- Living Altars

In this multi-displinary course, students will explore the theory and praxis of ritual performance from an African diaspora lens. Our investigation will rotate around the nexus of Theatrical Jazz, a theatre/dance form originated in the 1970s by pioneers like Laurie Carlos and Dianne McIntyre that brought together experimental aesthetics, West African spirituality, and the political realities of black feminism. With values which include: presence, breath, improvisation, dissonance, and virtuosity, it is easy to see how Theatrical Jazz is not only a theatrical form, but a rigorous training methodology where identity and spirit merge. Students will explore cosmologies of the Bantu-Kongo and Yoruba, along with their diasporic tendrils in the U.S. and the Caribbean, with a mind to how these (and other indigenous) systems can inform performance. Students will also create original theatrical jazz pieces as an offering to the many communities of which they are a part.